Pad Thai

This is my favourite recipe for Pad Thai (or Thai Fried Noodles). The best part of making this dish is the garnish.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 cup small cooked prawns
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons fish sauce (Nam Pla)
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
2 eggs, beaten
375g (3/4 pound) rice vermicelli, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes and drained
1 cup bean sprouts

Garnish:
1 tablespoon dried prawn powder
2 tablespoons peanuts, coarsely ground
1/2 teaspoon dried red chilli flakes (or powder)
2 green onions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons coriander leaves, chopped
2 limes, very finely sliced

Cooking:
Heat the oil in a wok and fry the garlic until golden. Quickly add the prawns and stir fry until heated through. Add the sugar, fish sauce and ketchup and stir until sugar dissolves. Add the beaten eggs, letting them set slightly, then stir to scramble. Add the noodles and toss and stir for about 2 minutes. Reserving about 4 tablespoons of the bean sprouts, add the remainder to the wok. Stir over heat until the bean sprouts are barely cooked. Turn the Pad Thai onto a platter, placing the reserved, raw bean sprouts on one side.

Presentation:
Sprinkle the noodles with the garnish ingredients in the following order: prawn powder, peanuts, chilli flakes, green onions, coriander leaves. Ring the platter with the lime slices and serve.

This recipe comes from Jennifer Brennan's "The Original Thai Cookbook".